I... was so ready to get invested in this one, but sadly, I never really got sucked in like I wanted to!  the first third of the book was more of a friendship / family drama rather than a mystery, and I was super bored by the unnecessary plot points.  it just seemed like the group was trying to hang onto old memories, including their unalived friend, instead of making new ones and trying to mend.

other than kaea, I also felt that the characters were superficial in a way that we never really got to know the heart of who they were ... even the narrator had an unnecessary storyline about her health that literally never panned out in the slightest.  I just didn't understand what the point of backstories are if they're not utilized.

once the thriller portions of the story started happening around the halfway mark of the book, I just didn't really care anymore?  and in my opinion, the person behind it all was super obvious just based on process of elimination - so that the "shocking" ending wasn't shocking at all.  I just wanted more from this one!! it had so much potential to be good, but sadly, it fell victim to the overused thriller tropes and too obvious plot twists.

thank you to netgalley and berkley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 2 stars
wine pairing: napa valley merlot